Field
This disclosure relates generally to semiconductor processing, and more specifically, to a split gate device with a doped region and method therefor.
Related Art
Nonvolatile memories are an important element in the design of electronic devices. An NVM is typically constructed with a plurality of NVM cells, each of which includes a separate charge storage element for storing electrical charge. One type of NVM uses split gate devices, in which each split gate device exhibits two distinguishable channel regions, respectively controllable by a select gate and a control gate. In one example, the control gate overlaps the select gate with a charge storage layer between the control gate and the select gate and between the control gate and the substrate. However, as the devices decrease in size, the issue of charge trap-up has become increasingly problematic. Trap-up results from trapped charges in the dielectric of the charge storage layer and is most significant at the source edge, wherein the control gate is closest to the substrate. During cycling, these trapped charges are difficult to remove and negatively impact the threshold voltage. Therefore, a need exists for an improved split-gate device which reduces the effects of the trapped charges.